In the end, all the intricate language on a flashy Zeek Rewards website hid a reality now becoming shockingly painful to an untold number of local investors. Zeek Rewards, which plied its trade from a nondescript building on W. Center Street, represented a massive Ponzi scheme destined to collapse and leave people in the lurch.

The Securities and Exchange Commission Aug. 17 took an emergency action to seize the remaining assets of Rex Venture Group, the parent company of the supposed multilevel marketing business Zeek Rewards. A federal judge out of Charlotte set up a receiver this week to sift through the remains of the business to determine what assets are available and might be used to repay Zeek Rewards victims some of their money.

The SEC called Rex Venture Group and Zeek Rewards “a $600 million Ponzi scheme on the verge of collapse.” The federal agency estimates more than 1 million Internet customers “nationwide and overseas” tapped into Zeek Rewards since the beginning of last year.

According to the SEC complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Zeek Rewards represents an elaborate scheme to bilk investors while enriching its principal, Paul Burks, and his family.

Burks, 65, who was charged with fraud, has agreed to cooperate with the receiver on pinpointing and recovering assets, according to the SEC. While promoting itself as a marketing business, Zeek Rewards was designed as a classic pyramid scheme.

“Approximately 98 percent of Zeek Rewards’ total revenues, and correspondingly the purported share of ‘net profits’ paid to current investors, are comprised of funds received from new investors,” the SEC reports.

Zeek Rewards used the appeal of a quick return on investment and involvement to lure new clients. The money from the new clients, in turn, was used to pay older ones to perpetuate the fraud as long as possible.

Zeek Rewards touted access to “retail profit pools” that allowed clients to share in “up to 50 percent of the daily new profits,” according to the SEC. Potential clients were encouraged to become a “qualified affiliate” by enrolling in a monthly subscription plan requiring payments of $10 to $99 per month, the SEC reports.

Early customers were rewarded for recruiting new members, which fueled the growth of Zeek Rewards, the SEC reports.

As with virtually all Ponzi schemes, the tipping point of payouts surpassing income loomed with Zeek Rewards.

“Based on the Zeek Rewards current outstanding Profit Point balance, the company would be obligated to pay out approximately $45 million per day if all Qualified Affiliates elected to receive their daily award in cash,” according to the SEC.

In July, total revenues for Zeek Rewards were about $162 million, while total investors cash payouts were approximately $160 million, according to the complaint.

“With only approximately $225 million on hand, the company would quickly be rendered insolvent,” the SEC reports.